Amuse
/əˈmjuːz/noun
To entertain or occupy pleasantly.
Did you know?The word comes from an old sense of being mentally absorbed or deluded, not just entertained, so its earliest history is closer to enchantment than comedy.
Etymological Timeline
Late 14th Century
Old French
amuser
“to beguile, deceive, occupy the mind”
Late 14th Century
Old French
a- + muser
“to cause to stare idly, make someone linger or be distracted”
13th Century
Old French
muser
“to muse, loiter, stare, delay”
Proto-Romance
Romance
*mūsāre
“to linger, ponder, stare idly”
Modern English
English
amuse
“to entertain pleasantly or occupy the attention”